MANILA, Philippines — This sari-sari store owner in North Caloocan was arrested by police for selling, not his regular store items, but fake vaccination cards.
The suspect was identified as Benjamin Marilao, 52, who owns a sari-sari store located at Phase 7, Barangay Bagong Silang, North Caloocan. He was arrested during an entrapment operation over the weekend, the Caloocan city government reported on Friday.
Caloocan Police chief Col. Samuel Mina said Marilao was selling a vaccination card for P500 to an undercover policeman.
Seized from Marilao was the computer that he used to make the fake vaccination cards, as well as several fake copies of vaccination cards. The suspect is facing charges for falsification of public documents.
In a statement, Caloocan City Mayor Oscar “Oca” Malapitan encouraged the public to avail of the free vaccination instead of resorting to buying fake vaccine cards.
“We have a database where we could check the records of vaccinated individuals in Caloocan. Our vaccination sites are open every day, so let’s get vaccinated instead to protect ourselves and our community,” he said.